blather

[blath -er]

See more synonyms for blather on Thesaurus.com

noun

foolish, voluble talk: His speech was full of the most amazing blather.

verb (used with or without object)

to talk or utter foolishly; blither; babble: The poor thing blathered for hours about the intricacies of his psyche.

Also blether.

Origin of blather

Middle English; Old Norse blathra to chatter, blabber

Related formsblath·er·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for blathering

babble, digress, meander, wander, ramble, divulge, chortle, giggle, blather, cackle, blab, rave, blathering, chitchatting, gibbering, blithering, blabbering, jabbering, prate

Examples from the Web for blathering

Historical Examples of blathering

It's some of them blathering Barneys that's after calling me Bridget a widdy.
The Misfit Christmas Puddings
The Consolation Club
Go out of that door, I'm telling you, and do your blathering below in the glen.
In the Shadow of the Glen
J. M. Synge
You'd be a great one for keeping him steady at his work, for he's after idling and blathering to this hour from the dawn of day.
The Well of the Saints
J. M. Synge
But my Irishmen are as jolly as ever, blathering and chaffing each other after their usual fashion.
Miss Ravenel's conversion from secession to loyalty
J. W. de Forest
Some blathering parsons say that this blessed Mission is teaching men to talk cant and Puritanism.
The Chequers
James Runciman

British Dictionary definitions for blathering

blather

Scot blether

verb

(intr) to speak foolishly

noun

foolish talk; nonsense
a person who blathers

Word Origin for blather

C15: from Old Norse blathra, from blathr nonsense

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for blathering

blather

1520s, Scottish, probably from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse blaðra "mutter, wag the tongue," perhaps of imitative origin. Related: Blathered; blathering.

blather

1787, from blather (v.).